Red and white giant flying squirrel

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Red and white giant flying squirrel
Red and white giant flying squirrel (Illustration from The Cambridge Natural History, Volume X — Mammalia, 1902)

Red and white giant flying squirrel
(Illustration from The Cambridge Natural History, Volume X — Mammalia , 1902)

Systematics
Subordination : Squirrel relatives (Sciuromorpha)
Family : Squirrel (Sciuridae)
Subfamily : Tree squirrel and flying squirrel (Sciurinae)
Tribe : Flying Squirrel (Pteromyini)
Genre : Giant Sliding Squirrel ( Petaurista )
Type : Red and white giant flying squirrel
Scientific name
Petaurista alborufus
( Milne-Edwards , 1870)

The red and white giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista alborufus ) is a flying squirrel from the genus of the giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista ). It is distributed over large parts of the People's Republic of China and in northern Myanmar . It is the largest species within the genus, making it one of the largest squirrels in the world. The Taiwan giant flying squirrel , which is widespread on the island of Taiwan and is sometimes regarded as a subspecies of the red and white giant flying squirrel , is now classified as a separate species.

features

general characteristics

The red and white giant gliding squirrel reaches a head-torso length of 35 to 58 centimeters and a tail length of 36 to 40 centimeters with a weight of about 1450 to 1550 grams. This makes it the largest croissant of the genus and one of the largest croissants at all. The rear foot length is 78 to 90 millimeters, the ear length 47 to 59 millimeters. The females are slightly smaller than the males, and there is no sexual dimorphism beyond that . The species is characterized by a large area of ​​light speckles in the back fur, which results from a mosaic of white, light red and auburn woolly hair. The throat is white, the belly brown, pink or white.

Like all giant flying squirrels, it has a large and hairy flight membrane that connects the wrists and ankles and is enlarged by a fold of skin between the hind legs and the base of the tail. The flight membrane is muscular and reinforced at the edge, it can be tensed and relaxed accordingly in order to control the direction of gliding.

Features of the skull

The total length of the skull is 78 to 83 millimeters. The skull is well built and has a clearly pronounced Post orbita lfortsatz.

genetics

The red and white giant sliding squirrel has a simple chromosome set (s) of 19 and a diploid chromosome set of 2n = 38, so it has a total of 38 chromosomes in each cell.

distribution

Distribution area of ​​the red and white giant gliding squirrel

The red and white giant sliding squirrel occurs in large parts of the People's Republic of China , on the island of Taiwan and probably in northern Myanmar . In China, it can be found in Shaanxi , Hunan , Guangxi , Sichuan , Gansu , Hubei , Guizhou, and Yunnan provinces . The extension of the distribution area into the north of Myanmar is assumed, but has not yet been proven, as there is no evidence from this region.

The height distribution of the species ranges from 800 to 3500 meters with a distribution focus at heights of 2000 to 3000 meters. It lives mainly in dense mountain forests and limestone slopes. Deciduous forests are preferred, but it also occurs much less often in coniferous forest stands.

Way of life

The red and white giant sliding squirrel is nocturnal and builds nests in tree hollows in higher trees and in crevices in the rock. Like all other flying squirrels, this species is also able to glide over long distances by jumping off a tree. Gliding flights of more than 400 meters were documented. Most sightings of the species come from trees at heights of over 10 meters, sightings on the ground or at heights below 3 meters are not documented.

In its circulation area the kind lives partly sympatric with the Indian petaurista ( Petaurista philippensis ), the Black and White Flying Squirrel ( Hylopetes alboniger ) and the complex toothed flying squirrel ( Trogopterus xanthipes ). In addition, it also lives sympathetically in southern China with the somewhat smaller Taguan ( Petaurista petaurista ), which prefers to be found in coniferous forests. Both species occur in the same trees, with the red and white giant gliding squirrel occupying higher areas and thus avoiding direct competition .

nutrition

It feeds omnivorously on acorns, nuts, fruits and leaves, as well as on insects, their larvae and probably also on bird eggs.

Reproduction

Little information is available about the reproduction of the species. According to observations, the mating season is in June and the reproduction rate with one to two young animals per litter is very low, also in comparison to other species of the genus, in which two to three young animals per litter occur.

Systematics

The red and white giant sliding squirrel is classified as an independent species within the genus of the giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista ), which contains a total of eight to nine species. The first scientific description comes from Alphonse Milne-Edwards from 1870 using an individual from Muping in Baoxing County in Sichuan , China.

Four subspecies are distinguished within the species:

  • Petaurista alborufus alborufa ( nominate form ) in western Sichuan and in Gansu ; the subspecies is recognizable by the reddish hair on the feet.
  • Petaurista alborufus candidula
  • Petaurista alborufus castanea in southern China from east Sichuan to Yunnan, Guishou and Hubei; the subspecies has black hair on the feet and a colored ring at the base of the tail.
  • Petaurista alborufus leucocephala in Tibet; in this subspecies the entire head including the edges of the ears and large parts of the body is white.

Petaurista alborufus ochraspis in Yunnan and Guangxi, probably also in northern Myanmar; This subspecies also has reddish hair on the feet, white rings at the base of the tail and an otherwise almost completely black tail.

For the island form Petaurista alborufus lena from Taiwan, a separate species was proposed on the basis of karyological features such as the size of the X chromosome and the C bands of the chromosomes, as it differs significantly from the mainland forms. It is assumed for Petaurista alborufus lena that it separated from the common parent species much earlier than the mainland form Petaurista alborufus castaneus . This separation and classification of Palena as a separate species P. lena is also supported by molecular biological characteristics, as shown by comparisons of the cytochrome b sequences of the mitochondrial DNA . On this basis, the Taiwan giant sliding squirrel ( Petaurista lena ) has meanwhile been classified as a separate species.

In addition, it is assumed that presumed representatives of the species from the Chinese provinces of Qinghai and Gansu are probably partially assigned to the Chinese giant flying squirrel ( Petaurista xanthotis ). In the

The in Thorington et al. 2012 and Wilson & Reeder 2005 "listed subspecies Petaurista alborufus ochraspis from Yunnan and Guangxi as well as probably the north of Myanmar is no longer listed in the Handbook of the Mammals of the World .

Existence, endangerment and protection

The red and white giant sliding squirrel is classified by the International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN) as not endangered (least concern) due to its large distribution area and the assumed large population . In addition, it occurs in several protected areas, so that a sharp decline is not expected. Exact information on the stock sizes does not exist. The potential endangerment factors are not known, the species is only hunted in Taiwan.

Further research is needed to identify the real distribution area, and it must also be clarified whether the southern representatives actually belong to this species or to the Chinese giant sliding squirrel.

supporting documents

  1. ↑ a b c d e f g Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, 2008; P. 177. ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 .
  2. ↑ a b c d e f g h Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 110-111. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  3. ↑ a b T. Oshida, Y. Obara, LK Lin, MC Yoshida: Comparison of banded karyotypes between two subspecies of the red and white giant flying squirrel Petaurista alborufus (Mammalia, Rodentia). Caryologia 53 (3-4), 2000; Pp. 261-267. ( Full text )
  4. ↑ a b c d Petaurista alborufus in the Red List of Threatened Species of the IUCN 2013.2. Listed by: AT Smith, CH Johnston, CH, 2008. Retrieved November 30, 2013.
  5. ↑ a b c Don E. Wilson & DeeAnn M. Reeder (Eds.): Petaurista alborufus in Mammal Species of the World. A Taxonomic and Geographic Reference (3rd ed).
  6. ↑ a b c J.L. Koprowski, EA Goldstein, KR Bennett, C. Pereira Mendes: Red-and-white Giant Flying Squirrel Petaurista albiventer. In: Don E. Wilson, TE Lacher, Jr., Russell A. Mittermeier (Eds.): Handbook of the Mammals of the World: Lagomorphs and Rodents 1. (HMW, Volume 6) Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 2016, ISBN 978- 84-941892-3-4 , pp. 770-771.
  7. ↑ Tatsuo Oshida1, Liang-Kong Lin, Ryuichi Masuda, Michihiro C. Yoshida: Phylogenetic Relationships among Asian species of Petaurista (Rodentia, Sciuridae), Inferred from Mitochondrial Cytochrome b Gene Sequences. Zoological Science 17 (1), 2000; Pp. 123-128. doi : 10.2108 / zsj.17.123
  8. ↑ Tatsuo Oshida, Can Ngoc Dang, Son Truong Nguyen, Nghia Xuan Nguyen, Hideki Endo, Junpei Kimura, Motoki Sasaki, Akiko Hayashida, Ai Takano, Yoshihiro Hayashi: Phylogenetics of Petaurista in Light of Specimens Collected from Northern Vietnam. Mammal Study 35 (1), 2010: pp. 85-91. doi : 10.3106 / 041.035.0107
  9. ↑ Song Li, Kai He, Fa-Hong Yu, Qi-Sen Yang: Molecular Phylogeny and Biogeography of Petaurista Inferred from the Cytochrome b Gene, with Implications for the Taxonomic Status of P. caniceps, P. marica and P. sybilla. PLOS ONE , July 16, 2013 doi : 10.1371 / journal.pone.0070461

literature

  • Richard W. Thorington Jr., John L. Koprowski, Michael A. Steele: Squirrels of the World. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore MD 2012; Pp. 110-111. ISBN 978-1-4214-0469-1
  • Red and White Giant Flying Squirrel. In: Andrew T. Smith , Yan Xie: A Guide to the Mammals of China. Princeton University Press, 2008; P. 177. ISBN 978-0-691-09984-2 .

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